Curios on parent and non-parent's opinions on this... - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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I just wish we would get back to teaching our kids what holidays really mean
and not how many gifts they can get. It's my hope that my DD will give WAY
more than she will ever receive and we have started to teach her this at 2.
This is what we do. My kids don't do santa. I have nothing against it what so ever, but we have a birthday party for Jesus with cake and all! They love it! It's a b-day party and they will say "Jesus loves us so much that he lets us have all the presents, even though it's his birthday"! I love Christmas! They buy gifts for kids in "need" also, they love doing this almost as much as they enjoy getting their own gifts! We are involved in a program that chooses about a dozen families and lets them make a wish list and then us (and many others) buy them gifts off the list.
It seems to me many of you are assuming that every child who sees these commercials is going to demand they start a wishlist on Toys R Us.com. I would dare say this is where the parenting part kicks in. You can at any point say no to the list, no to letting them use Toys R Us's website, or prevent them from creating their own account. Any account created by a child online should be supervised by a parent. I supervise the lists I keep online for gift shopping and would do the same with any gift lists - including not just what goes on the list but if it's sent to anyone and who it's sent to. So how is that teaching children the wrong message? Why shouldn't children have an all-out dreaming session where they imagine all the wonderful things they could get for Christmas? No one balks at the idea of writing a letter to Santa! It is now and has always been a parent's responsbility to reign it in. Why does a wish list - which is not a new concept - suddenly somehow prevent a parent from seeing and reviewing the list? No responsible parent allows their young child unsupervised computer time. (One would assume older children have learned to reign in their own lists by the age of 10 or 12. )
I don't see how it's any different from them flipping through catalogs circling what they want and their parents paging through it later to see what the kids like. (Do you feel obligated to buy everything you see circled? ) This was how my mom kept us occupied while she was baking Christmas cookies for years - 2 copies of the Wish Book and 2 red pens.
I agree that it is fine to look and create a wish list, but I'm not personally hip on emailing it to people. And I guess I'm not hip on them encouraging kids and/or parents to email to people also. I would feel rude and like I was pressuring someone if I did this. Everyone is different and should do what is best for them, but this is NOT for me.
We don't have cable, so they will never see the commercial or know about it unless I tell them. They only have access to one computer and it's in the living room in plain view and monitored closely.
- including not just what goes on the list but if it's sent to anyone and who it's sent to. So how is that teaching children the wrong message?
That's the part I find totally rude and impolite. I have nothing against my children making wishlists but I would never in a million years allow them to email or give a list to anyone, including family. It's right up there with emailing thank you notes in my book. If someone asks my child for gift ideas they know to give one or two suggestions and that's it. If they get a duplicate gift, which they have many times, they graciously say thank you and we donate it later.
They buy gifts for kids in "need" also, they love doing this almost as much as they enjoy getting their own gifts! We are involved in a program that chooses about a dozen families and lets them make a wish list and then us (and many others) buy them gifts off the list.
We find an angel on the Salvation Army Angel tree every year (started WAY
before DD was born) and make sure they are the same age as the child. Then we
have the child buy for the angel what they need and then what they want. Our
foster daughter(11) at the time was so shocked that we did this and that the gifts
weren't her's that it was painful to watch. By the time we were done she was
really into it and asked to do another so we did. We also sponsor several families
at our church and really enjoy picking out stuff to give them.
Showing our DD(2) that giving means so much more than receiving is important to
us but we are also teaching her that no matter what we ALWAYS say thank you,
write thank you notes and apprieciate the person no matter what.
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I also don't mind our DD making out her Christmas Wish List (which I did but
knew I wasn't getting everything listed) and also writing a letter to Santa. In
fact I can't wait until she is old enough to do both. But sending the list to family
and friends won't be happening.
I like when I can buy off of a baby or wedding registry so I can buy what they
really need. I don't buy the expensive wants on the registry.
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) This was how my mom kept us occupied while she was baking Christmas cookies for years - 2 copies of the Wish Book and 2 red pens. 
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